Hugh Chatham Health has joined Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s family of hospitals, outpatient centers and providers.  

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist is investing $100 million in Hugh Chatham Health. In time, this investment will enable us to:  

• Implement a new electronic health record, EPIC, to facilitate seamless care coordination between providers at Hugh Chatham Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.  
• Advance the recruitment and retention of primary care and specialty care providers to the Yadkin Valley region.  
• Support and expand current clinical programs such as Women’s Services, Heart and Vascular, and Cancer Care to ensure essential services stay local.  
• Provide professional and career growth opportunities for Hugh Chatham Health team members and providers.   

Our long-standing relationship, combined with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s deep understanding of and commitment to rural communities, makes this partnership the natural next step for our organizations.

Joining Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist will enable us to access enhanced resources and expertise to provide world-class health care delivered by the providers our patients know and trust. As part of Atrium Health’s commitment to this community and supporting rural health, they have committed an additional $30 million to establish the Yadkin Valley Wellness Foundation.

Chaired by Dr. Chris Groner, the Yadkin Valley Wellness Foundation will serve as an independent foundation, focused on community health and wellness, and lending oversight to ensure partnership terms are fulfilled. In the coming months, the Yadkin Valley Wellness Foundation will seek input from key stakeholders and the community at large through a visioning process that will clarify its vision, goals and plans.

What This Means for Patients and the Community

Our patients will quickly begin to see benefits, including additional care and services that will help keep care close to home. While we work to become fully integrated into the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist organization, our top priority will continue to be providing exceptional care to our patients and community.

Together, Hugh Chatham Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist will bring unprecedented rural health care resources and services such as:

• A wider pool of specialists and sub-specialists
• Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital
• Atrium Health’s National Cancer lnstitute’s clinical trials network

What This Means for Team Members

This is an exciting step in our future. It’s important to know that we will continue to provide the same care that our patients and community depend on while we begin our new journey with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.

Why Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

For decades, Hugh Chatham Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist have successfully worked together to deliver world-class health care to our region, including an NCI-designated Cancer Center, a joint venture critical access hospital in Alleghany County, heart and vascular services, population health management and more.

What’s Next

Now that our partnership has been finalized, leaders will begin to plan a multi-step approach to the integration. This process will take time, and any changes that are made will have the needs of our patients, team members and community in mind. In the coming months, Hugh Chatham Health and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist leaders will share more details about the future plans.